


A Suave Christmas

by JenSurname



Series: Suaveness [2]
Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-06-02 18:19:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6577384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenSurname/pseuds/JenSurname
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short (two-part) standalone story, but set in the Suave-verse. Two months have passed since Suave ended and Christmas has now arrived. Piper's returned home for the holidays, leaving Alex back in the city. Piper has to contend with her mother, alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

Piper sat in bed leaning back against the headboard with her iPad propped against her thighs. Several pillows were plumped behind her, the doona covered her to the waist. She wore a pair of deep blue flannel pyjama bottoms and a white tank top. She glanced at the time in the top corner of her iPad, then let out a quiet sigh. In four minutes it would be 1am. This was the cut off. If there was no call by 1am, there would be no call at all tonight.

She closed her eyes and rested her head back. She was tired, it had been a long day, a number of challenges had presented themselves and the only thing that had kept her going at times was the thought of this call. A dull ache pushed at her forehead and she rubbed her fingers over the skin there hoping to ease away the tension before it developed into something more sinister.

She opened her eyes and looked around the once familiar room, at the large pink chrysanthemums that dominated the wallpaper, the matching pretty but impractical curtains, the matching lampshade.

_A matching lampshade? What the fuck was I thinking?_

Just inside the door, sitting atop the lime-washed dressing table, sat a small collection of gifts. A very small collection. Three, in fact. There was a presentation box containing two soaps, two bath bombs and a small bottle of skin lotion. All were rose scented and made the inside of Piper's nose itch when she sniffed them. The brand label on the box made Piper aware that the cost of this little assortment was  _not_  to be sniffed at. It had to be well into three figures. Piper was astonished, horrified and disgusted all at the same time. It didn't even occur to her to be grateful.

The second gift was a pen. It was a nice pen, sleek and weighty and again came in a fancy presentation box which bore the name of a well known designer. Again, this was no cheap gift. It was practical and it was stylish and it was exactly the same gift as she'd received last Christmas. And the Christmas before. And the one before that, too.

The third gift, sitting a little apart from the other two, was a grey t-shirt which bore the slogan in black capital letters "WORLD'S OKAYEST SISTER". She actually quite liked this and it was her favourite of the three. She wasn't entirely sure when she'd wear it, but it had raised a smile this afternoon and those had been quite hard to come by in the past couple of days.

Piper had arrived at her parents' house on the morning of Christmas Eve. She was due to stay for three nights, this was the second. She had been summoned home for Christmas, just as she was summoned home for Thanksgiving. Dinner had been all about keeping up appearances, as it always was. Her younger brother had attended, but he'd arrived an hour before dinner was served and left an hour after. Her elder brother hadn't attended, but then, he hadn't been invited either.

Piper reached for her phone as she thought about Danny, did some quick mental arithmetic to work out the time, then sent him a text.

_Thinking of you both.  
_ _Merry Christmas! xx_

She turned her attention back to her iPad. Two minutes. Realistically, she knew the call wasn't going to come now. There was cutting it fine, then then there was within two minutes. She checked her email, then turned off her iPad and eased out of bed. She used the bathroom in the en-suite, then returned to bed to find a text waiting for her from her brother.

_Love you, Pipe. Hope you  
_ _haven't killed her. ;) x_

She couldn't help smiling as she read the message. Of all people, Danny knew what she was going through, having to spend Christmas in the company of her mother. She tapped out a reply and hit send.

_Not yet. But only because it's_  
_the season of goodwill. There  
_ _is still time._

As she looked at the screen waiting for Danny's reply, the phone rang in her hand. Startled, she immediately dropped it and in her attempt to grab it managed to knock it off the bed completely. She scrambled after it, snatching it up from the floor and answering it on her knees with a frantic "Yes? Hello? Alex?"

"Hey, babe. You okay?"

Piper shifted from her knees to sit on the floor, her back against the bed behind her, clutching the phone tightly in her hand. She squeezed her eyes closed, fighting back the tears that caught her by surprise. Just the sound of Alex's voice was all it had taken; a mixture of emotions swept over her and threatened to overwhelm her. She bit her lower lip hard, not trusting her voice not to give her away if she were to speak.

"Pipes? You there?"

"Yeah," she breathed.

"You okay, kid?"

"Mmhmm."

"You sure?"

Piper could hear the frown in Alex's voice, noted how her tone had lowered slightly and pictured the look of concern her girlfriend was no doubt wearing. She cleared her throat quietly, then spoke.

"Fine, yes. Fine. You?" Only a hint of a waver in her voice.

Alex paused just for a second before replying, then seemed to shrug off any niggling doubts as she spoke. "I'm okay, yeah. I'm sorry I'm a little late calling, I know we said no later than one, but I figured you'd let me off for two whole minutes."

Piper glanced at the clock on her nightstand. The illuminated digits reading 01:02.

"Of course," Piper murmured.

"I'd have called ten minutes ago, but there was a bit of a fracas downstairs when I got home and I got kinda waylaid trying to smooth things over."

"A fracas?"

"Yeah. Nothing major. I think Vasily had too much to drink, Lida was laying into him when I got home. Red was trying to get in on the act too, Yuri had drank too much to be any help and it was all very loud and, y'know,  _Russian_. I just helped to calm things down a little."

"Merry Christmas, huh?"

"Heh, yeah." Alex half-laughed. "Too merry for some people. It was the same at the bar tonight. Too many people who couldn't hold their drink. It was a long night."

"I thought you said it was usually quiet at Christmas."

"Yeah. Famous last words. Next year, I'm either gonna make Nicky work it with me, or I just won't open. Maybe take a vacation. What do you think? You wanna spend Christmas in the Caribbean next year, kid?"

"You think we'll still be together next Christmas?"

Alex was taken aback by this. "You don't?"

Piper didn't reply, already regretting having spoken the words aloud. The silence hung heavy over the line and it was Alex who broke it, after it had stretched from awkward to uncomfortable.

"What's going on, Pipes?"

Her voice was soft, filled with concern, not much more than a murmur. Hearing the worry that laced Alex's words immediately made Piper feel guilty and she pressed the heel of her hand firmly against her forehead. She drew her knees up to her chest and tried to swallow past the lump that had firmly lodged itself in her throat.

Alex remained quiet, listening to Piper's quiet, unsteady breathing. After a full thirty seconds had passed, she tried again.

"Piper? What's wrong, babe?"

"I miss you."

The words were so quiet that Alex almost didn't catch them. It took her brain a moment to process them, to form the whispered sentiment into a sentence and make sense of it.

She kept her voice soft when she replied. "Is it bad?"

"Yeah."

"Worse than you thought?"

"Yeah."

"Is she giving you a hard time?"

"Yeah."

"Did they buy you the pen again?"

Alex detected the resigned smile in Piper's reply. "Yeah. They bought me the pen."

"It's a nice pen," Alex tried.

"It's lovely."

"It's pretty. Like you."

A pause. Then, "I'm pretty?"

"No, you're gorgeous. But it seemed a bit over the top calling a pen gorgeous."

"I don't think you've called me gorgeous before."

"I've  _definitely_  never said it to a pen."

They both smiled. Alex could practically hear it over the line, despite Piper's lack of a verbal response.

"You are though," she said, a moment later. She paused, then added "And I miss you, too."

She listened to Piper's quiet sigh, then heard her speak again. "Remind me again why I came here?"

"Because you're a good person, Piper. Because it's what your mother wanted and you didn't want to upset her."

"It's upsetting  _me_ , just being here."

"I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of it myself, kid."

There was another silence on the line, as both women reflected on their current situation. It was Piper who spoke next a few seconds later.

"I have your gift here."

"Yeah?"

"Yep."

"What did you get me? Is it a pen? It's a pen, isn't it. You're re-gifting me a pen, aren't you. Come on, admit it, you can tell me..."

She smiled as she heard Piper's quiet laugh. "It isn't a pen."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"What is it?"

"I'm not telling."

"You're a tease, Chapman."

Piper smiled a little. "You like it when I'm a tease."

"Where did you hear that? I don't remember ever telling you that. It isn't true. It's a lie. All lies. Lies I tell you."

Piper was laughing now, listening to Alex's protracted denial. Alex smiled at the sound, pleased and relieved that she'd been able to turn her girlfriend's mood around.

"Come on, tell me what my gift is."

"Nope."

"Is it a pony?"

"Nope."

"Is it a car?"

"Nope."

"Is it you?"

"Nop- um, what?"

"Is it you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Is it you? If I go to my front door now and open it, will I find you standing there wearing nothing but a big red bow and holding a sprig of mistletoe?"

Piper was silent for a couple of seconds, her voice carried a hint of resignation when she next spoke. "Damn. I so should've done that."

Alex smiled a little. "You'd either be spending the night in police cells for indecent exposure or in a hospital with real exposure, babe. I prefer you hot, not hypothermic."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You'll be home soon."

"Not soon enough."

"Only two more nights. Tonight and tomorrow and then you'll be back in the city and away from all of that drama."

"Will you be working?"

"When?"

"The night I get back."

"That depends. Are you gonna stop off somewhere on the way home to buy a bow and some mistletoe?"

Piper smiled. "I would, for you."

Alex chuckled. "Not necessary. I'll be happy just to see you. I won't be working."

"Okay, cool."

"What time do you think you'll be back?"

"I'm not sure. Sometime in the afternoon I think. I need to check the train times."

"Alright. Let me know, yeah?"

"Yeah, of course." Piper paused, then spoke again. "How was your day? I didn't ask, being all consumed in my own pit of misery."

Alex chuckled. "It was okay. Quiet, y'know. I had to open up at four, so it was all pretty low key. Dinner was nice though."

"Just the three of you?"

"Yeah."

"I still can't believe those two aren't together."

"Nah. Or at least, not in any official kinda way. Roomies with semi-regular benefits, I think."

"If it works for them..."

"Yeah. It seems to."

"Are you working tomorrow?"

"From twelve, yeah."

"Okay. I should let you go, get some sleep."

"Yeah, probably."

A pause. Then, "I don't really want to, though."

Alex smiled, listening to Piper's reluctance.

"Are you in bed?"

"Yeah. Well. Kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Well, I  _was_  in bed. But then when you called I dropped the phone and knocked it off the bed and so I'm sitting on the floor, next to the bed. Not technically in it any more."

Alex's smile grew as she listened. She could picture that sequence of events perfectly. It was  _very_  Piper. "You're adorable," she murmured.

"I prefer  _hot_. Puppies are adorable."

"Well obviously you're hot. That goes without saying. But you're adorable too."

"Like a puppy?"

"I don't know. Do I need to buy you a collar and leash?"

Piper laughed quietly, her cheeks bearing a faint pink blush.

"I should do that," Alex mused. "Buy you a collar and leash. Then I could keep you here, make sure you don't run away and abandon me at Christmas and other times when I need you here with me."

"Mmm, my mom would love that."

"Yeah she would."

" _I'm sorry mother, I can't come home for the holidays, my girlfriend has me on a short leash and tied to the bed._ "

"Hot..." Alex grinned.

Piper smiled and was about to reply when Alex continued "...but I didn't say anything about tying you to the bed. That was all you, Pipes."

To Alex's surprise, Piper didn't make any attempt at backtracking or denial. She simply replied with a quiet "Mmm. It was."

Alex raised both eyebrows and was about to question Piper on this, when her girlfriend spoke again.

"I'll leave you to think about that, Al. It's time I was going."

"Going?"

"Back to bed."

"Oh, but..."

"Nuh-uh. No buts. It's almost one-thirty, you have work tomorrow and I have another day of trying not to kill my mother."

"Pipes, you can't just say something like that and then-"

"Watch me."

A smirk played on Alex's lips. She remained silent for a couple of seconds, listening to Piper as she moved around, sounding like she was getting back into bed again. Her voice was quiet when she spoke again.

"You're really gonna go?"

"Mmhmm."

"And leave me like this?"

Piper smiled. "Like what?"

"You know what."

"Do I?"

"Piper..."

Piper smiled, listening to the sound of her girlfriend's quiet breathing over the line. She let the silence stretch out for several seconds.

Softly, she eventually spoke. "I can't wait to see you, Alex. I miss you very much."

"I miss you too, babe."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"You will."

There was a pause, the kind of pause that would be filled with a certain declaration, if any declaration were to be made. Two months into their relationship, no such statement had yet been declared.

The silence sat heavy between them, until Piper spoke again just before ending the call.

"Merry Christmas, Al."


	2. Two

Alex awoke the following morning a little before ten. She woke on the couch, where she'd fallen asleep after speaking to Piper the night before. She was still fully clothed, with the exception of her boots which had been kicked haphazardly onto the floor. Her jeans were unbuttoned and pulled open, telling their own tale of what had happened after Piper had ended the call.

She sat up slowly and rubbed the stiffness out of her neck before reaching for her phone to check the time. Four text messages awaited her, all from Piper.

07.40:  _Good morning. xx_

_08.20: I'm going down for breakfast. Wish me luck._

_08.55: I'm going to fucking kill her. I swear._

_09.12: Please call me when you get this._ _x_

Alex frowned and immediately dialled Piper's number. She stood as it began to ring and moved into the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee. After ringing for almost a minute, the call diverted to voicemail.

"Hey Pipes, it's me. It's uh… ten? About ten. I just saw your messages. I'm gonna jump in the shower, but… give me a call back if you need me. Later, kid."

Alex left the coffee brewing and headed into the bathroom. She emptied her bladder then took a shower, washing her hair and herself in less than three minutes, not wanting to risk missing any return call from Piper.

She dried her hair, dressed in pair of black jeans and a deep blue crew neck sweater over a white blouse. She was seated at the counter in the kitchen drinking her second cup of coffee and reading a two day old newspaper when Piper called again. She drank another mouthful of coffee as she lifted the phone, answering it on the third ring after checking the display.

"Hey babe, sorry I missed you earlier."

"Hi. It's okay. It's okay, it's fine. It's okay."

Alex frowned immediately, listening to Piper and hearing a tightness in her voice that she'd never noticed before.

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Ugh. Not really. I'm just… I just… it's good to hear your voice."

Alex's frown grew and she pushed the newspaper away, sitting up straighter. "What's happening?"

"Lunch. Lunch is happening, apparently. With Marjorie and Magnus."

"Okayyyy?" These names meant nothing to Alex and she wasn't entirely sure what was wrong.

"Can I just stay on the line talking to you? Now and all through lunch and this afternoon and tonight too?"

Alex's lips curled into a small smile. "Wouldn't that be kinda rude? If you're having lunch with Margaret and Magnus."

"Marjorie."

"Marjorie. Sorry."

"Oh no, but I'm not having lunch with Marjorie and Magnus. Mother is, and dad."

"Yeah, now I think you've lost me..."

"They're going to the Club, whilst I get to spend lunch and all  _fucking_  afternoon with Matthias."

"And Matthias is…?"

"A total douche."

"Okay."

"Smarmy."

"Okay."

Alex still wasn't entirely sure what the problem was, until Piper sighed heavily and continued. "Matty Forsberg is, according to my mother, one of the most eligible bachelors on the east coast. He is a year older than me and she has been trying for the past three months to get me in the same room as him so I can ' _see how charming he is, Piper_ ' and ' _spend some quality time in his company_ '."

" _Quality time_?" Piper could practically hear Alex's raised eyebrow.

"I've avoided it, obviously."

"Uh huh."

"She's insistent that we would make ' _a delightful pairing_ ' and I need to ' _start looking to the future'."_

" _What?!"_ Alex couldn't quite keep the incredulity from her voice.

" time is against me, apparently."

"Is she for fucking real?"

"Well, I don't want to be left on the shelf, do I."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. That's what she said to me over breakfast this morning."

"She knows we're living in the twenty-first century, right?"

"I don't think she is, Al. Honestly. The things she puts importance on, the things she values, are so far removed from reality, from  _my_  reality, that it just isn't funny."

"She's like a caricature."

"Yeah, well, caricature or not, she's managed to completely manipulate the day today to ensure I don't have a choice about spending ' _quality time_ ' with Matthias."

"She can't do that, Pipes."

"You think? I knew we were having lunch with the Forsbergs today, she told me when I arrived on Christmas Eve. But she's told me over breakfast this morning that actually, only she and daddy are going for lunch at the Club with his parents, but Matty himself will be taking me out this afternoon, just the two of us, so we can ' _get to know each other a little better_ '."

"Are you shitting me?"

"Do I sound like I'm joking?"

"Can you get out of it?"

"I don't know how. Last time she tried to set something like this up, I pretended I was sick but I don't think that'll wash this time. I'm right here. She can see I'm not sick."

"She's tried this before?"

"Yeah. A Couple of months ago. I got Polly to call her and tell her I was sick." Piper paused for a moment, then added "Then I went to the movies with you."

Alex fell silent for a moment, trying to order this in her head. "This Matty dude," she started. "What's his take on all of this?"

"His take?"

"Yeah. What's his angle? What does he think it's all about, taking you to lunch, spending the afternoon with you?"

"I'm not certain."

"Well don't you think you should find out before you let him take you out on this  _date_?" Alex heard herself snap and instantly bit her lower lip.

Piper hesitated for a second before replying cautiously "It isn't a date, Al."

Alex huffed, but said nothing.

"It isn't. It's just… it's just lunch."

Alex clenched her back teeth together and forced herself to take a deep steadying breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth.  _Calm yourself, Vause. You've got this._

"I'm sorry," Alex said, forcing herself to soften her voice. "I know it's just lunch, babe. I know that."

"Good," Piper murmured.

"I know that and you know that, but my question is, does he?"

Piper frowned and Alex listened to her sigh.

"And does your mother?"

Alex heard Piper curse under her breath. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on her clenched fist, her elbow planted on the counter top, and made a concerted effort to remain silent. Waiting.

When Piper next spoke, her voice was quiet. Almost a whisper. "God, I wish you were here."

Alex nodded, but still didn't speak.

After a moment, Piper spoke again. "I told her I was seeing somebody. My mother, I mean. I told her this morning."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm. No real details, just that I'd been seeing somebody for a few weeks."

Alex sat a little straighter and ran her fingers through her hair. Took another steadying breath. "And what did she say?"

"She wanted to know if she knew your family."

Alex scoffed. Piper frowned.

"I told her that she didn't."

"Mmm."

Piper sighed, then continued "She basically said that Matthias was a ' _better option_ ' for me and if you and I have only been seeing each other for a few weeks, then it can easily be ended."

"Oh it can, can it?" Alex didn't know whether to laugh or explode with rage. The woman was incredible.

"Because it isn't serious."

"Right."

"Because it can't be, after just a few weeks."

"Right." Alex repeated, her tongue clicking off her teeth, almost spitting the end of the word.

Piper was quiet for a few seconds, listening to Alex's rapid breathing. When she spoke again, her voice was soft and quiet. "I told her that wasn't true, Al. I told her I'd found someone who makes me happy, someone who makes me feel special, who makes me feel like there's a point to everything."

Alex remained quiet. Piper continued, "I told her I'd never been more serious about anything in my life."

"What did she say to that?" Alex murmured.

Piper sighed. "She asked how much money you make."

Alex actually laughed, although there was no humour in it. "Of course she did."

"God, I wish you were here," Piper said again after a few seconds of silence. "I wish she could see that all of that doesn't matter. Money and status and families and history and names and all of that crap. It doesn't matter. What's important is..." her voice trailed off and silence filled the space between them once more.

"Is…?" Alex prompted.

Piper hesitated, then shook her head and mumbled "Not that."

"Then what?"

"You." Piper said simply. "You matter."

Alex remained quiet, but her lips formed themselves into a small smile.

* * *

Nicky was still asleep when the hammering started, a few minutes before eleven.

It infiltrated her brain in stages, beginning as surf crashing on the shoreline in her dream, becoming louder and more pronounced, the waves increasing in size until they were hitting the sand faster and faster, one after the other, barely a second between them. Then shouting, then more waves, then more shouting, then…

...she leapt out of bed and rushed to the door, wrenching it open.

"The fuck?!"

"Gimme your keys."

"Where's the fire?"

Alex pushed past her and into the apartment, leaving Nicky standing wild-haired, half asleep and bewildered in the open doorway, wearing nothing but a t-shirt. She turned and looked after Alex, watching as she upturned cushions on the couch and searched under magazines on the coffee table, almost frantic.

"Vause! The fuck are you doing?"

"Your keys, dumbass. I need your fucking keys."

Nicky threw her hands up in frustration. "Talk to me!"

"No time. No time. Where are your keys, dammit!"

Nicky lifted the keys from the small table next to the door and dangled them off one finger, then cleared her throat loudly to catch Alex's attention.

Alex turned to her friend and then lunged for them, letting out a frustrated cry when with a deft flick of her wrist Nicky spun the keys on her finger then clutched them in her fist.

"Tell me what's going on."

"Seriously. I will tell you everything later. Right now I need those keys Nicky."

Nicky raised an eyebrow and made no move to hand over the keys.

" _Please_ , Nic. C'mon."

Nicky caught the desperation in Alex's voice and paused for a moment, a frown creasing her brow. She looked at the other woman properly for the first time, then wordlessly held the keys out to her.

Alex snatched them immediately, then grabbed hold of Nicky and kissed her on the cheek before running out of the door again, leaving her friend standing confused in the doorway.

* * *

It was a quarter to one when Alex slowed the car and pulled into the long driveway, after crawling the last half a mile trying to determine from the ' _Find My Friends_ ' app on her phone which was the right house. She parked the car in between a Mercedes and a convertible BMW and didn't bother locking it as she approached the house. She figured Nicky's beat up fifteen year old Honda with the mismatched door and the missing wing mirror wouldn't exactly be a criminal's vehicle of choice, given the selection on offer.

She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and straightened her leather jacket, then used the ornate brass knocker to rap twice on the door. She heard movement inside, then a female voice call Piper's name and an instruction to hurry.

The door was opened by a lady Alex pegged as mid-to-late fifties, painfully thin with bleached blonde hair, a pinched expression and an unnaturally smooth and immobile forehead. Alex determined this by watching the look of surprise that crossed the lady's face – but not her forehead – when she saw her standing on the doorstep.

"Oh," she said in greeting, not even attempting to hide the look of disdain on her face as she looked Alex up and down.

"Hi," Alex said confidently. "I'm here for Piper."

"And you are…?"

"Here for Piper." Alex repeated pleasantly.

If it weren't for the amount of botox in Carol Chapman's face, Alex would have seen both of her eyebrows rise in surprise. As it was, she observed a slight widening of her eyes and a pinch of the lips.

"I'm sorry," Carol began "Piper is currently indisposed."

Alex took a small step forward and smiled at Piper's mother. "Mrs Chapman," she said with a smile, "I think we both know that isn't the case. If you could please call her, as you did before you opened the door to me, I'd be very grateful."

Before Carol could reply, both women heard a door open and close upstairs, then footsteps moving slowly along the upstairs hallway. Alex's eyes flicked up over Carol's shoulder towards the staircase and Carol half turned, looking in the same direction as Piper appeared and began to descend the stairs.

She was halfway down before she noticed Alex standing in the open doorway. She froze in her tracks and just stared, before taking two more steps.

"Alex?" Her voice was uncertain, as if her eyes were deceiving her. As if this was a mirage, her mind showing her the one thing she really wanted to see rather than the expected reality of Matthias Forsberg. Alex remained quiet, just looking at the other woman, then watched as Piper's face broke into a wide smile and she took the remaining three steps quickly and moved towards her.

"Piper?" Carol's voice cut the air between them and Piper stopped in her tracks, the smile falling from her face in an instant. "Piper, what is going on? Who  _is_  this…  _person_?"

Piper's eyes were fixed on Alex, she could hear her mother's words but all she could see was Alex.

Alex looked Piper in the eye when she spoke, her voice firm but quiet. She tried to sound confident, tried to hide the uncertainty that had started to bubble up inside her. "Get your things, Pipes. We're going home."

A beautiful smile once again formed on Piper's face and she took a hesitant step backward, back toward the stairs.

"Ah, excuse me," Carol began, in her haughtiest tone. "I don't know who you are, or indeed who you  _think_  you are, but I can assure you that Piper has plans for the afternoon and," she made a show of checking her Michael Kors watch before continuing "she's expecting company any moment now, so if you don't mind..."

"Actually I  _do_  mind, Mrs Chapman." Alex remained polite, but assertive. She looked over at Piper and nodded her head toward the stairs. "Get your things, Pipes. I'll be right here."

Piper looked a little hesitant, but was reassured by the small smile her girlfriend gave her. Grinning, she turned on her heel and hurried back up the stairs. Alex turned her attention back to Carol and continued.

"As I was saying Mrs Chapman, I'm here for Piper. I understand you'd made plans for her this afternoon, but unfortunately Piper wasn't in agreement with those plans and of course, all plans are subject to change." She paused half a beat, then added "Consider me a change. I'm taking her home."

"This is preposterous!" Carol declared.

"Actually no. I think you'll find that what's preposterous is you hoodwinking her into thinking she was attending a family lunch today, when you'd actually arranged for her to go on a  _date_ despite her revelation to you that she's actually already in a committed relationship with somebody else."

"Young lady, Matthias Forsberg is-"

"Not somebody your daughter wants to spend time with." Alex interrupted, cutting Carol off before she could launch into full flow. "Now, I don't have kids Mrs Chapman, but I had a mother. She wasn't a perfect mother by any stretch, but she was the closest thing to perfect I've yet found, with the notable exception of your daughter. My mother used to say to me that life is short and we should make the most of it. She told me it was important to spend what little time we have here doing what makes us happy. ' _Do more of what makes you happy,_ _Lexy_.' That's what she used to say to me. She used to tell me that if she had the power to give me anything in the world, what she'd give me was happiness, but as she didn't have that power, it was important I strive to get that for myself."

Alex paused and cast a glance up the stairs behind Carol Chapman, then continued.

"If I ever have kids, Mrs Chapman, that's how I intend to bring them up. Money, connections, appearances… all of that stuff? It doesn't matter. What matters is  _love_. Love and happiness. If I can give that to my kids, then I'll be content with the job I've done raising them."

Alex looked back up the stairs as she heard a bedroom door close and Piper's footsteps, considerably quicker this time, making their way down the hallway.

"Piper gets that. She understands the importance of love and happiness and how those things have far more importance than all of the material stuff. She understands that that's what matters. So I'm here to take her home, back to where she's happy, back to where she's loved with a kind of love that doesn't come with conditions attached."

Alex looked over at the staircase as Piper made her way down, a bag slung over her shoulder. She gave her a reassuring smile as she approached, then reached and took the bag from her.

"All set?"

"Yep. Good to go."

Alex turned her attention back to Piper's mother and offered her hand. Carol Chapman took the hand by reflex, she'd been brought up better than to ignore a proffered hand. Alex gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Mrs Chapman. Don't worry, I'll make sure she has what matters."

She released Carol's hand and deliberately took hold of Piper's. Piper gave her a small confused smile, then leaned in and kissed her mother on the cheek.

"Bye mom," she murmured. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Carol breathed, still taken aback, as she watched her daughter walk away hand in hand with the one person who knew how to make her happy.


End file.
